In Cocoa, to compare dates, use one of isEqualToDate, compare, laterDate, and earlierDate methods on NSDate objects, instantiated with the dates you need.
If you make both dates NSDates you can use NSDate's compare: method:
NSComparisonResult result = [Date2 compare:Date1];
if(result==NSOrderedAscending)
NSLog(@"Date1 is in the future");
else if(result==NSOrderedDescending)
NSLog(@"Date1 is in the past");
else
NSLog(@"Both dates are the same");
When you use - (NSComparisonResult)compare:(NSDate *)anotherDate ,you get back one of these:
The receiver and anotherDate are exactly equal to each other, NSOrderedSame
The receiver is later in time than anotherDate, NSOrderedDescending
The receiver is earlier in time than anotherDate, NSOrderedAscending.
example:
NSDate * now = [NSDate date];
NSDate * mile = [[NSDate alloc] initWithString:@"2001-03-24 10:45:32 +0600"];
NSComparisonResult result = [now compare:mile];
NSLog(@"%@", now);
NSLog(@"%@", mile);
switch (result)
{
case NSOrderedAscending: NSLog(@"%@ is in future from %@", mile, now); break;
case NSOrderedDescending: NSLog(@"%@ is in past from %@", mile, now); break;
case NSOrderedSame: NSLog(@"%@ is the same as %@", mile, now); break;
default: NSLog(@"erorr dates %@, %@", mile, now); break;
}
[mile release];
Here buddy. This function will match your date with any specific date and will be able to tell whether they match or not. You can also modify the components to match your requirements.
NSDate *today = [NSDate date]; // it will give you current date
NSDate *newDate = [NSDate dateWithString:@"xxxxxx"]; // your date
NSComparisonResult result;
//has three possible values: NSOrderedSame,NSOrderedDescending, NSOrderedAscending
result = [today compare:newDate]; // comparing two dates
if(result==NSOrderedAscending)
NSLog(@"today is less");
else if(result==NSOrderedDescending)
NSLog(@"newDate is less");
else
NSLog(@"Both dates are same");
There are other ways that you may use to compare an NSDate objects. Each of the
methods will be more efficient at certain tasks. I have chosen the compare method
because it will handle most of your basic date comparison needs.
According to Listing 13 of Calendrical Calculations in Apple's Date and Time Programming Guide [NSCalendar ordinalityOfUnit:NSDayCalendarUnit inUnit: NSEraCalendarUnit forDate:myDate] gives you the number of midnights since the start of the era.
This way it's easy to check whether the date is yesterday, today, or tomorrow.
Get Today's Date:
NSDate* date = [NSDate date];
Create a Date From Scratch:
NSDateComponents* comps = [[NSDateComponents alloc]init];
comps.year = 2015;
comps.month = 12;
comps.day = 31;
NSCalendar* calendar = [NSCalendar currentCalendar];
NSDate* date = [calendar dateFromComponents:comps];
Add a day to a Date:
NSDate* date = [NSDate date];
NSDateComponents* comps = [[NSDateComponents alloc]init];
comps.day = 1;
NSCalendar* calendar = [NSCalendar currentCalendar];
NSDate* tomorrow = [calendar dateByAddingComponents:comps toDate:date options:nil];
Subtract a day from a Date:
NSDate* date = [NSDate date];
NSDateComponents* comps = [[NSDateComponents alloc]init];
comps.day = -1;
NSCalendar* calendar = [NSCalendar currentCalendar];
NSDate* yesterday = [calendar dateByAddingComponents:comps toDate:date options:nil];
Convert a Date to a String:
NSDate* date = [NSDate date];
NSDateFormatter* formatter = [[NSDateFormatter alloc]init];
formatter.dateFormat = @"MMMM dd, yyyy";
NSString* dateString = [formatter stringFromDate:date];
Convert a String to a Date:
NSDateFormatter* formatter = [[NSDateFormatter alloc]init];
formatter.dateFormat = @"MMMM dd, yyyy";
NSDate* date = [formatter dateFromString:@"August 02, 2014"];
Find how many days are in a month:
NSDate* date = [NSDate date];
NSCalendar* cal = [NSCalendar currentCalendar];
NSRange currentRange = [cal rangeOfUnit:NSDayCalendarUnit inUnit:NSMonthCalendarUnit forDate:date];
NSInteger numberOfDays = currentRange.length;
Calculate how much time something took:
NSDate* start = [NSDate date];
for(int i = 0; i < 1000000000; i++);
NSDate* end = [NSDate date];
NSTimeInterval duration = [end timeIntervalSinceDate:start];
Find the Day Of Week for a specific Date:
NSDate* date = [NSDate date];
NSCalendar* cal = [NSCalendar currentCalendar];
NSInteger dow = [cal ordinalityOfUnit:NSWeekdayCalendarUnit inUnit:NSWeekCalendarUnit forDate:date];